Iguodala scores 29 points, Nuggets top Warriors

DENVER (AP) — Ty Lawson has a reputation for quickness and scoring. He can play defense, too.

Stephen Curry can attest to that.

Lawson had 18 points and nine assists and his defense on Golden State's top scorer was just as valuable in the Denver Nuggets' 102-91 victory over the Warriors on Friday night.

Curry was held to six points in his lowest-scoring game since early last season.

"I think Ty and him have a little bit of a rivalry," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Ty's pressure in the last couple of games has been getting better. He's understanding he can be a pest on that end of the court. He didn't get any open shots and we picked him up in transition."

Curry was in danger of going scoreless for the first time since his rookie season three years ago. He didn't score until he hit a 3-pointer with 3:21 left, and he hit another with 1:35 left to cut Denver's lead to 10 at 101-91.

"I don't know. It was a rough one out there for everybody," said Curry, who attempted only three shots through most of the game before hitting his final two. "I was coming back and forth off the bench and missed a lot of time in the first half. That's no excuse. I have to be more aggressive."

Lawson pressured Curry from the start, creating an early steal that led to Danilo Gallinari's dunk.

"I pressured him as much as I could. I knew if he didn't have a good game, it would be tough for them to stay in the game," Lawson said. "It would be difficult for them to stay in the game."

Andre Iguodala had 29 points — 21 in the second half — and Gallinari added 20 points for the Nuggets. They have won three straight.

David Lee led Golden State with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Carl Landry had 19 points.

Klay Thompson had 16 points, all in the first half.

Despite Curry's struggles, Golden State led at half before the Nuggets took over after the break. The Warriors missed their first nine shots of the third quarter as Denver went from six down to ahead 62-53 lead. Iguodala scored nine points to ignite a 17-0 run that began at the end of the first half.

"We've been doing good adjusting out of halftime. The only negative is we can't let ourselves get down," Iguodala said. "We've got to be ready to start off well, take leads in the first half and try to put them away with those big runs in the third quarter."

With Curry scoreless, Landry and Jarrett Jack tried to pick up the slack. Landry had six straight points to pull Golden State to 66-63, but Lawson led the way as the Nuggets took a 78-70 lead heading into the fourth.

"We've been a second half team the last three games," Karl said. "The first six minutes of the third quarter were tremendous. Iguodala motivated a lot of that with his defense."

Denver used a 9-0 run at the 10 minute mark to pull away. Iguodala scored four points and JaVale McGee had a dunk and a free throw that made it 91-74 with 7:28 remaining.

"They turned it up a notch and we ran for the hills and didn't respond," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "We didn't help the cause by turning over the basketball and we allowed them transition points. So they got it going. But we didn't try to stop it. We actually helped them keep it going."

NOTES: Lee has six straight double-doubles and seven in his last eight games. ... Nuggets F Wilson Chandler sat out his fifth straight game. Chandler is still dealing with issues from offseason surgery on his left hip. ... Iguodala's career high is 34.